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Tickets to see the biggest musical acts at RodeoHouston are always hot items, but this year scalpers seem to be exceedingly driven.

On Monday morning, RodeoHouston announced the lineup for this year's rodeo, including Usher, Maroon 5, Robin Thicke, Selena Gomez, and Zac Brown Band. Also on the list this year:Reba, Keith Urban, Brad Paisley, and Blake Shelton.

By Monday night, scalpers were selling tickets to some shows for more than $1,000. Tickets to rodeo concerts are not supposed to go on sale until Saturday morning at 10 a.m.

Leroy Shafer, the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo’s chief operating officer, said this has become an annual battle.

"Our policies have not changed. We ask that our tickets are not to be sold for more than face value," Shafer said on Tuesday.

Shafer reminds everyone that RodeoHouston wants the shows to be affordable and family-friendly.

As of Tuesday afternoon, field level tickets to see Maroon 5 were going for about $1,100 each on StubHub.

Though RodeoHouston cannot take punitive actions, the group does punish season ticket holders who are caught scalping their tickets. Shafer said RodeoHouston cancels "hundreds" of ticket orders a year.

"We do revoke ticket privileges for people we catch," he said. "Our policy clearly states that we do not knowingly sell tickets to third-party ticket sellers."

The penalty for rodeo committee members caught selling their tickets is also mighty stiff.

"If they are a committee volunteer and they are caught, they lose their tickets and their committee status," said Shafer. "With some 28,500 volunteers, you cannot say everyone is sterling but we catch one or two a year."

Paula Urban, managing director of ticket sales for RodeoHouston, said it’s generally easy to identify customers who are ticket brokers.

"Most ticket brokers that call us wanting tickets will ask for multiple tickets -- like 10 or so-- in the same area,” she said. "Normal people only ask for two or three."

Brokers will call from anonymous numbers or long distance, according to Urban.

"A lot of them say it's for family, and they live in Maryland or something and want 20 tickets," Urban said. "They will call over and over again."

While Urban does not advocate scalping, she said she understands the appeal.

"It's a tempting business to get into. You can make a lot of money at this," she said.

Kayla Ramsey with the Houston Ticket Store said she wishes that RodeoHouston would go after the real enemy, namely people selling tickets on Craigslist where there is no regulation or accountability.

Ramsey has been a third-party ticket seller for the last decade. She says that store front ticket sellers, legitimate ones, aren't the enemy.

"Before the bigger acts started coming, RodeoHouston didn't seem to care about us," said Ramsey. "The threats that the rodeo are making on third-party sellers are ridiculous."

"We're just trying to make a living," Ramsey added. Unlike private sellers, she issues receipts and will buy tickets from customers at market value.

Ramsey adds that the rodeo should instead block customers from certain zip codes if they really want to crack down.

Ticket prices are high right now because customers buying before the tickets actually go on sale are trying to ensure they get the best seats, Ramsey said.

Ticketmaster also procedures in place for those who buy RodeoHouston tickets. The company has set a 10 ticket limit for when tickets go on sale Saturday. Additionally, the ticketing agency will hand over a list of names to RodeoHouston of people who have made multiple orders to weed out brokers.

According to Shafer, the hottest tickets this year on the third-party sites appear to be for Usher, Maroon 5, and Robin Thicke, with country stars like Luke Bryan, Blake Shelton, and the Zac Brown Band right behind them.

Even though Thicke made headlines last year for his antics with Miley Cyrus at the MTV Video Music Awards and for his music videos featuring nude women, Shafer said he expects Thicke will turn in a "family show.”

Speaking of Cyrus, who broke RodeoHouston attendance records in the past, Shafer said we all have to remember her age now when it comes to her current flamboyant image. He thinks she's possibly the next Madonna and speaks very highly of her, like a doting relative.

And yes, RodeoHouston has tried to snag Madonna for a gig but haven't quite made the pieces fit as of yet.

The organizers will usually start signing musical acts for the next RodeoHouston within 60 days of the last show, meaning that by early summer event planners will already have some names on contract to play in 2015.

Country star Garth Brooks announced his intention to leave his Las Vegas residency and tour in 2014 after RodeoHouston had already sealed this year's lineup.

"During the time frame we were looking at entertainers, he hadn't yet made his decision to leave Vegas," said Shafer.

Brooks' long-awaited return to the RodeoHouston stage would likely have driven third-party ticket sellers mad. It would also call for a longer run-up, akin to the one for George Strait's concert last March.

Shafer said he would not give anyone advice on who to trust when it comes to buying tickets from a third-party vendor, but he said to always be wary of who you are giving your money to.

"If you go to a ticket reseller, you should be cautious and buy only from a reputable reseller."